Tough to choose this week whether to make this or Batwoman #1 my pick (Demon Knights was nowhere close)! In the end I opted for this one simply because I am a sucker for a good Batman story, and this ticked all the right boxes for me! Above all I really enjoyed the way Tomasi tried to add some extra dimension to the often under-developed Bruce/Batman character. The scenes with Bruce’s son Damian, and the development of their relationship with Damian comparing Bruce unfavourably to Dick Grayson in particular, were extremely well handled. Bruce deciding to pay tribute to his parents not on the anniversary of their death, but rather on the day of their wedding, was also a nice character touch, showing perhaps how far removed this Batman has become from the gritty, sociopathic avenger we have been presented with too often since The Dark Knight Returns.
The artwork, too, was some of the best I have seen from Gleason, with the shadowy introduction of the mysterious new villain at the start of the issue being a highlight. It was nice to see Gleason given the opportunity to work more on mood and atmosphere than we are used to from his earlier efforts on Green Lantern Corps.
Although I had pretty low expectations of this title going in (and almost didn’t pick it up) I ended up being really impressed. This is a Bat book with a little something extra to offer!